Dr. Animu Maida is the current Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the regulator of the telecommunications industry in Nigeria.
Dr. Maida, a native of Katsina State, was appointed to this position by President Bola Tinubu on October 11, 2023, and was confirmed by the Nigerian Senate on November 15, 2023.
He holds an MEng in Information Systems Engineering from Imperial College, London in 2002, and in 2006, he earned a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from the University of Bath, United Kingdom.
Between 2018 and 2019, Maida completed a Post Graduate Diploma in Entrepreneurship (FinTech Pathway) program at the Cambridge Judge Business School, United Kingdom.
Until his latest appointment by the President, Dr. Maida was the Executive Director, Technology and Operations at Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System Plc (NIBSS), the nation’s central switch company owned by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and all licensed Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) in Nigeria.
At NIBSS, Dr. Maida spearheaded the technical and operational standardisation of all devices deployed in the financial system in Nigeria for interoperability.
He led a dynamic team that ensured that all terminals used in the e-payment industry and all devices deployed in Nigeria accept all cards issued by banks and other licensed card schemes without discrimination.
Prior to his appointment at NIBSS, Maida was the Chief Technical Officer (CTO) at the Nigerian-based FinTech Arca Payments Network and Senior Manager at Cisco Systems, United Kingdom.
As a seasoned technical professional with over 15 years of multi-functional and international experience in FinTech and Telecoms and Enterprise Technology, Maida between 2010 and 2014, worked as a Network Design Consultant at Ee, part of BT Group, and one of the largest mobile communications companies in the UK.
He was also at some point (2006-2010) a System Engineer at Ubiquisys, a leading company in intelligent 3G and LTE small cells, which is now part of Cisco.
Maida was handed over the baton of leadership by the former EVC/CEO, Prof. Umar Danbatta, who served the Commission between 2015 and 2023.
NCC AT A GLANCE
NCC is an independent National Regulatory Authority for the telecommunications industry in Nigeria, under the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital
Economy.
Created by Decree 75 on November 24, 1992, NCC has the mandate of creating an enabling environment for
competition among operators in the industry as well as ensuring the provision of qualitative and efficient telecommunications services throughout the country.
Over the years, NCC has earned a reputation as a foremost telecom regulatory agency in Africa. This has been validated by the number of awards won by the Commission within and outside Nigeria.
It’s also within the Commission’s purview to catalyse the use of ICTs for different aspects of national development.
The Commission has initiated several policies and programmes targeted at stimulating demand and accelerating the uptake of ICT tools and services necessary for the enthronement of a knowledge society in Nigeria.
In order to achieve its mandate, the Commission has put in place the necessary licensing and regulatory framework for the supply of telecommunications services in the country.
Through deliberate and sustained efforts in driving major initiatives, programmes and necessary regulatory interventions, the NCC has been able to deepen access to telecommunications services -voice and data-across the country.
MAIDA’s VISION FOR NCC
NCC, as the apex regulator of the telecom industry, since inception, has issued a plethora of regulations that has transformed the telecommunications industry in Nigeria. Through regulatory instruments like sanctions, the Commission was able to discourage cheating, promote fair competition and sustainable growth of the industry, and the nation’s economy.
Coming on board, Maida announced that the NCC would give priority to the improvement of its regulatory activities in order to attract more investment into the industry, which will boost revenue generation and employment. This, he said, would be done by reviewing internal processes to engender efficiency and responsiveness of the Commission, including the digitisation of its operations.
Another priority area is broadband connectivity, which he considers as the biggest enabler of the digital economy and financial inclusion. He underscored the need to maximise the potential of innovations in some technological evolutions such as the 5G revolution in order to create more opportunities within the industry and further boost connectivity.
He pledged to ensure effective broadband infrastructure diffusion across the length and breadth of Nigeria, so that citizens could have access to affordable and reliable broadband service.
“Considering the fact that many people are going more digital and virtual in everything they do, the telecom infra structure is now under much stress. President Tinubu’s vision emphasises the need to build more robust broadband connectivity that will not only facilitate seamless digital transactions but also serve as the bedrock for e-governance and other socio-economic initiatives,” he said.
“As such, we would align with this aspiration to increase broadband penetration to 70 percent and to cover 90 percent of the population by 2025. Therefore, we need to build a reliable telecom industry with impressive quality of service (QoS) indicators with quality of experience (QoE) as our watchword and ultimate goal.
“This also requires us to address a number of issues such as the Right of Way (RoW) challenge, ensuring the security of our telecom infrastructure, among others. Efforts must be made to significantly improve service delivery by ensuring that NCC is performance-driven,” he said.
He pledged that transparency will form the bedrock of his leadership as Nigeria’s chief telecom regulator as this will enable a solid foundation in building a resilient, accountable, and efficient institution.
MAIDA’S ACHIEVEMENTS AS NCC BOSS
Maida, since assuming office a year ago, has made significant progress in enhancing the nation’s telecommunications landscape. One of the achievements was the push for the signing of a Presidential Order 2024, designating telecommunications infrastructure as critical national assets.
The Order, signed by President Bola Tinubu in July 2024, and drawn from the powers granted under the Cybercrimes Act of 2024, was aimed at protecting telecommunications assets from vandalism, theft, and fiber cuts by construction companies.
Maida ensured that SIM Cards are properly linked to the National Identification Numbers (NIN) to check the increasing incidences of banditry and terrorism in the country.
The compulsory linkage policy which started in December 2020 was successfully implemented after his assumption of office.
Following his aggressive push for waiver of Right of Way (RoW) charges, about seven states have waived their Right of Way charges, facilitating more affordable fiber installation for telecom operators, thereby improving connectivity across the country.
Maida, in partnership with Nokia has also initiated training programmes for young engineers in 4G/5G technologies, targeted at building capacity in support of the nation’s digital economy.
Also, working in collaboration with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), he was able to resolve the protracted interconnect and USSD debt, put at over N200 billion as of October 2024.
Dr. Maida stated that with the support of all stakeholders, the NCC under his watch will drive optimal quality of experience for consumers across all touch points, as well as expansion of broadband infrastructure, while fostering innovation and sustainable growth of the telecommunications sector.
